I Won't Let You Go, Again!
by Sadistic Empress
Summary: The sequel of "A Final Favour" So many years had passed since Rukia's death, and Ichigo could not even forget about her. When one day he came across a girl who looked really a lot like her, his heart stopped beating. Did the girl really her? -ON HIATUS!-
1. The Meeting

**Disclaimer: Do not own bleach… If I do, then Byakuya would be mine!!!! Kyaa****a!!!!!!**

"_Don't ever forget about me, ne, Ichigo. No matter what."_

It had been so many years he heard those last words from her. Yes, _so many _years had passed and he already had become a doctor, following his father's footsteps, in Karakura General Hospital, owned by his companion, Ishida Uryuu.

He was Kurosaki Ichigo. Twenty-four years old. Still a Shinigami though he often hunting down hollows; the assigned Shinigami sometimes was very slow to finish the job, leaving him no choice but to replace him for a 'while'. He now lived in an apartment, which he afforded with his own money. And lastly, he was still a single, unmarried man. (A/N: Feewittt!!!!)

It was already late. He rarely went back home this late except for today, because there was a certain someone kept on getting his nerves by offering him this and that though he rejected those offers so many times. No. Almost every time. That certain someone was Inoue Orihime.

It was not like he hated her. No, it was just that she always needed his help on certain matters and in return, offered him to have a tea at her house or something like that. It was kind of difficult for him to turn her down since she had a very fragile heart, so he had to always take a really good care of her.

They were now became just a normal friend. Back in the past, after his little visit to the Soul Society, they instantly broke up. It was because he only loved _her_ and could not even forget everything about _her_.

He came out from his daze when a playground park came into view. He stopped in his tracks and instead of going back home; he went to sit on a bench under the Sakura tree. There was no one since it was already midnight and he glanced upon the moon, which reminded him of _her_.

Kuchiki Rukia. He had fallen for her however he was too late to even realize his feelings for her. By the time he realize his feelings for her, she had already gone. Gone to another world where he could not even reach to bring her back. She only left him nothing but memories and a letter; a confession letter. He even dreamt of her, always kept muttering a word of 'soon' to him. He did not understand at all of the meaning of the dream and he kept on having the same dream.

A tear ran down his cheek and he quickly wiped it, afraid that someone would see him and make it as a laughing stock in the town and that would be the last thing he ever wanted to be happened. (A/N: who dares?)

He tried to wipe the rest of the tears that seemed to flow out of his control. If only he had not remembered Rukia in the first place, then he did not have to _cry_. He shook uncontrollably and wailed, calling out for Rukia under the moon.

*****SE*****

She went out this late just for a walk, relieving the stress she had from doing her Maths homework. "Why does Maths always this difficult?" she asked herself, tilting her head a bit to the side while putting a finger on her cheek. She tended to ask herself these questions, knowing that no one would answer her question.

She was only in her t-shirt and a pair of pants, while drinking a box of juice, which she brought from home, around the corner of the street. She tried to remember those complicated ways from her home to her new school. Yes, she just moved into this town yesterday with her best friend, Shirayuki, who got a job in this town.

She was a sixteen-year-old student and had a short, jet-black hair. She was quite short for a girl in her age and because of that, almost everyone at her previous school, mocked her, which made her really furious and end up beating them to a pulp. And also because of that, Shirayuki had to move out of the town and find a new job in another town. Of course, she did not even regret of her choice instead proud of her 'victory'.

Shirayuki was a twenty-year-old woman with long, as-blue-as-an-ice hair which Rukia found it weird for a woman of her age nowadays, or was it a fashion, she did not know. Though, Shirayuki was her childhood friend but she could not recollect her memories of her childhood. It was just too weird, since every people could even remember a little bit of their childhood and she could not. However, she just shrugged it off as it did not even matter to her.

It was quite eerie while walking all alone in the street. However, it was relaxing and calmed her mind. She kept on walking down the street until she stopped in her tracks. She heard something or rather, someone wailing. She went closer to the sound and found herself at the entrance of the park.

The park was a bit small and she felt a bit chilly. She then regretted that she only wore a thin t-shirt and hugged herself so that it could provide extra warmth. She observed around the park and her violet eyes stopped to a figure on a bench situated not far from her.

She walked to the figure and immediately surprised when an orange hair came in view. 'Orange? That's pretty rare for nowadays fashion,' she thought to herself and tried to stifle a giggle.

"Rukia….Rukia…." She heard a faint wail from the man as she stood before him. She waited for a while for the man to notice her. Instead, he ignored her as if she had never appeared before him.

A nerve popped on her head as she began to clear her throat. "Ano, are you okay?" The man flinched, before his head turned to her. Brown orbs met violet orbs. She did not understand why her heart started to beat faster when she looked into those eyes of his.

*****SE*****

He did not care if anyone heard him, wailing over _her_ name. He still could not forget her. He would never forget her as she already occupied most parts in his heart. He kept on wailing until someone stood before him.

He ignored the person and kept wailing faintly before the person before him voiced out. However, what he did not expect was that the voice sounded _too _familiar in his ears. It was _her _voice. The voice that kept on haunting his mind.

He turned rigid, as his head slowly turned towards the person. Violet orbs met brown orbs. It was _her_. It was really _her_. The only word that he could mutter was…

"Rukia…"

**A/N : *sigh* finally!!! The sequel!!!!**


	2. I dont want to believe it!

**This is the 2nd chapter… hope you enjoy!!!!**

"Rukia…"

The girl before him, shocked and looked at him as if he had grown another head.

_Rukia? How?_

He stood up immediately and grasped her shoulders, so that he could be assured that this time, it was real.

"Rukia, is this real?" he could not help but smiled, before pulling her to him, both arms enclosed her in an embrace. He could felt the girl flinched in his embrace, and he could not help but tighten the embrace.

"You know what, I knew you will return, that's why I keep on waiting for you. I missed you since long ago, after you went to Soul Society at that time…" he whispered to her ear, and each second, tightening the embrace. "I was so regret back there that I did not realize my true feelings for you and it was already too late when I went to Soul Society to meet you. I'm such a fool, am I not?" he grinned sadly before suddenly he had to pull back as a pain shot through his stomach.

He bent down, clutching his stomach, before he snapped his head to her. He felt a bit hurt when she punched him just to push him away.

"What the-" he stopped when he saw the glare she threw at him, while crossing her arms over her chest.

"What are you doing, you pervert!!!!" the girl before him yelled at him, making him more confused than before. It seemed like the Rukia he just met right now was a bit different from the Rukia he used to know. But he could not pin-point what the difference was.

And the next words he heard seemed to strike him in the heart…

*****SE*****

She was shocked and speechless when the man before her instantly stood after he turned his head to her. And she was even more stunned when the man suddenly embraced her and kept tightening both his arms around her every second. However her body and heart betrayed her.

_Why was it felt so good and right to be in his embrace?_

_Why it was as if they were being made for each other?_

_Why was her heart pounded like crazy for this man?_

_But one thing for sure she did not know this man…_

She blushed furiously when the man whispered in her ears and she could felt a cold tingle ran down her neck. However she could not even make out several words he had spoken and only caught a few words like 'missed you', 'Soul Society', 'regret', 'feelings' and 'too late'.

It felt so peaceful and _safe_ in his embrace when she suddenly realize their _position_ and tried to pull back but to no avail. A nerve popped on her head and before she could register her actions, she suddenly was released from his warm embrace.

She did not know what happened to him that made him release her. But when he rubbed his sore stomach, she then remembered that she had just punched him in the stomach.

She only sent him a cold glare and crossed her arms around her chest. "What are you doing, you pervert!!!" she yelled at him.

"And who the hell are you? How do you know my name?" she questioned him, narrowing her eyes to the man.

The man widened his eyes before he straightened his body and once again, grabbed her shoulders.

"Don't you know me? I'm Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo!" he looked so desperate and searched through her eyes however he only saw no sign of recognize.

"Sorry, but I still do not kno-"

"You used to be a Shinigami, and we used to be hunting hollows together," he tried very hard to make her remember him. He was quite hurt and disappointed. "Don't you remember any of that? You even drew those crap Chappy drawings and I used to comment it! And you even-"

"Stop it!!!!" he was cut off when she shouted at him. Her head hurt so much with his nonsense words and she could not take it anymore of it. So she pushed off his hands on her shoulders and step back, making a distance between them.

"Ruki-"

"Enough of it, _stranger_. I know you are stressed out of you work and can you please stop these nonsense this minute?" she begged him, and Ichigo felt a stab in his heart when he saw her pained face. "I think we should forget about this, being happened." She then turned and walk away from there.

Ichigo could not take it when she begged to him to forget all about this thing. It was as if all of him being waiting for her had gone wasted, and he did not want that. He also deserved something for his long wait. So he made a move by grabbing her wrist which resulted her to stop in her tracks.

"Rukia, I do know you and I'll never forget about you every now and then. So, I will not forget everything that happened today because I am so grateful that I have given the chance to meet you and correct my mistakes from the past. So, from now, I'll not let you go again nor let you slip off my holds again."

While he was saying all of those words, she could not help but looked straight towards his eyes, which told her that he was being serious. By now she could hear her heartbeat in her ears.

*****SE*****

He still grabbed her wrist before she shook it off and ran away.

"You're crazy!" she screamed to him and ran away. He started to chase her when a sudden beep came from his soul pager, indicating that there was a hollow nearby. He ignored it and chased her and before he could make it, she turned around the corner and he crashed into a pole.

"Shit! And where's the stupid shinigami when you needed him the most?!" he barked out into the night. And he even threw a string of curses for the assigned shinigami, as he pulled out his soul pager and pushed it to his chest, bringing out his soul out.

He then went to the park where all the commotion began as he felt the presence of the hollow there. When he saw the said hollow, without wasting his time he finished it off in one blow. After all, the hollow was pretty weak so he could finish it off in a matter of seconds.

He let out a relieved sigh and glanced to where Rukia had gone off. He scratched his head and went to where his body was.

He would definitely not let her go again…

He would definitely make her remember him again…

He would definitely make her fall in love with him again…

However her words just now kept on replaying in his mind over and over again.

"_Who are you?"_

It seemed like all of this would make things difficult than he thought. But he was too grateful that he got to meet her for the second time though she could not remember her.

Then an idea popped in his mind. He would see Urahara to discuss about this matter concerning Rukia. Maybe he would find an answer that he had been searching for.

Yeah, definitely!

**A/N : Go, go, Ichigo!!!! Go, go, Ichigo!!! *flapping around the pom-pom* sorry, if it's not good and it's not up to your expectations!!!**


	3. Shocking out of Chad?

**The third chapter…enjoy…**

* * *

Ichigo sighed for the umpteenth times.

He had already asked Urahara, before he went home, but what he could not expect was that reply he got from him.

A shrug and an 'I don't know'.

He then sighed again, before looking up at the clear moon, which reminded him of a certain midget.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"Oi, Kisuke." A dark-skinned woman opened and leaned against the shoji door, while crossing her arms under her chest. "You do know the answer, right?" she took a glance towards the ex-captain, who was turning to her, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

The said man lowered his hat as to hide his eyes, and chuckled. "Yoruichi-san, it's better for this matter to be left as a secret just like _his _wish."

Yoruichi sighed before walked away from the room. "I felt sorry for Ichigo."

She was now wide awake and she could feel cold sweat running down the side of her face and her back. She glanced towards the window, which was decorated with violet curtains at both sides of it. There, she could see the clear moon, high up in the sky.

She did not know why her heart felt calmer whenever she looked at the moon. It was as if, there was something missing. Something precious. But she did not know what. Then she glanced towards the clock on the table beside her bed. It was two in the morning.

She tried to recall on what had made her up in this ungodly hour. Oh yeah, now she could remember. She just had a dream, or a nightmare, she could not judge. The only thing she could remember about the dream was that she was wearing a black robe while holding a sword, pointing it to an ugly monster, before she was bitten on the neck and that absolutely was a nightmare!

She unconsciously rubbed her neck, as to ease her restless heart. Without much further ado, she just brushed the dream off as a typical nightmare and continued to lull back to sleep, since she would be having a school day later.

* * *

**The next day…**

Before Ichigo went to his work place, first he went to the park. He wanted to search a certain someone and hoped that she would be there or at least crossed the place. He waited for about half an hour before he went to the hospital.

He was a bit disappointed because since last night, he could not even sleep a wink because of her. His prayer had already been heard as he already met her, and this time, he wished that he could have a talk with her. He prayed for one more time for that to happen soon.

* * *

**During the Gym Class…**

It had been pretty boring while watching all the boys before her, running around while passing the ball to another. However much to her dismay, she was the only girl who did not squeal at the sight before her meanwhile most girls around her shouted at some random man. She kept on yawning and even took a nap since nobody was looking at her.

After half an hour and the game still had not finished yet, she took the opportunity to go out of the auditorium hall to have some fresh air.

At the outside, it was enjoyable for her that she could hear birds chirping and the rustling of trees. She also could feel the warm wind brushed against her body.

As she was walking, she saw a tap water and ran towards it. She spun it and water came flowing from it. She cupped her hand before splashing her face with the water. It was refreshing. She kept on doing this before she heard a cough from behind.

It had been so long ago that he got to fight alongside Ichigo. It had been…how many years was it; he had lost count since it did not even matter to him at all. All that matters to him was that the world had gone peaceful and safe from threat.

Chado Yasutora was the same age as Ichigo and he rarely met Ichigo since he was always busy with his medical assignments. And Chado was a gym teacher at Karakura High School, the school he used to go. But instead of a student, he went there as a teacher.

And at night, he worked as a part-timer guitarist of a band in a night-club, since he was living alone and he needed money to pay the rent or else he would be homeless and had to live on the streets. That was the last thing he ever wanted. Although, the school principal knew about this, he was allowed with a certain condition, that he should never had a relationship with a student from the school, in which Chad agreed immediately.

It was a very exhausting day because he was supposed to teach two classes of second-year students and it had to be the last class period for that day. Instead of studying, they were right now having a match to show the other who was much more superior. He just sweat-dropped and let out a long sigh. This was going to be a long day for him.

However, while he was observing the students, suddenly his eyes stopped at a familiar figure across the hall, who was sitting down on the floor, while looking at the game boringly. He narrowed his eyes as to focus more on the said student, his mind recalling each memory of people he met. Suddenly, a certain face came into his mind and his breath hitched.

_It could not be, right?_

_She had already dead, right?_

_So why was she here, all alive and so human?_

He decided to have a talk with her but before he could make it, she was already gone. He did not know how she disappeared since he locked his gaze on her. Perhaps there were so many things on his mind that he did not even know when she had left.

He gave up and went outside when he felt a bit thirsty suddenly. He was searching for a vending machine; it was situated on the school grounds from what he was being told, and it was his first time, searching for the said machine under the hot sun. It made him even more sweaty than ever and was about to turn away towards the hall when he heard a running tap nearby. He slowly turned around and there she was, at the hidden corner, splashing her face with the cold water.

He then made his way towards her and stopped behind her silently. However much to his dismay, the girl before him still did not take notice on his presence. So the only thing he could to make her acknowledge his presence was by coughing.

The girl before him, slowly turned around and bowed at him politely. "Oh, Good morning, Yasutora-sensei."

"Are you Kuchiki? Kuchiki Rukia?" Chad asked, so as to confirm whether she was the same person as the person in his mind.

Rukia's eyes widened a bit before she smiled and nodded to him. "Yes, I was a transfer student since this early month. And now it is in the mid-April, so it should be half a month already?" she kept mumbling this to herself, completely ignoring the man before her until the school bell rang, showing that it was the end of the school day.

Rukia gasped and bowed to him quickly before dashing away to change her clothes. Chad could do nothing about the situation and just nodded in the end since he was still too shocked to absorb everything in his mind.

And he knew that he had to do something about this…

* * *

**A/N: That's all for this chapter… what will he do??? Will he do something evil??? *gasp* No!!!!!**

**Perhaps it's too boring since it was all about Chad's and Rukia's fated meeting… and no, this is not ChadxRukia!!! It's Ichiruki!!!! I wrote this so as to explain and very much useful for the next chapter… ^_^-**


	4. Fated Meeting

**The fourth chapter? Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Ichigo sighed. He kept searching for her and had high hopes of meeting her again, but it seemed like it did not going to work this time. After he finished his medical paperwork, he went straight to the park and kept on waiting her until it was dark.

He even had to bear the weird looks he got from the people who passed the park and even several children did not even had the guts to take a look at him nor glance at him, afraid of his scary frowning face. But Ichigo did not care about all of those. The thing he really cared the most was meeting her again and he looked forward to today.

He sighed again and glanced at his wristwatch. It was already eight in the evening. He stood from the bench, which was situated under a tree, looking around the park before walked away from the park. He was pretty much disappointed.

Should he just give up on her?

Should he just move on without her?

Should he just forget everything about her?

He shook his head from those thoughts. No! No, he should not! She was the reason why he kept on living to this day. She was the reason why he could have a better life. And she was the reason why he kept on waiting for her and believed that she would return to him one day.

And now, he could finally meet her and from that day onwards, he had already vowed to his soul that he would not let her go off that easily. He could not bear to lose her once again.

With a burning spirit, he walked to his apartment.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

"How could I overslept until this dark?! I'm such an idiot!" she mentally smacked her head while dashing down the empty school corridor. Actually after the school ended, she had a duty to clean the classroom and able to finish them in half an hour, and she could not help but felt very sleepy so she took the chance to nap for a while. Unexpectedly, her nap became a very _long_ nap, and she regretted it.

As she reached the school gate, there was a sudden beep coming from her phone. She stopped, pulled it from her shirt's pocket and flipped it open. It was a message from Shirayuki. She clicked on it and suddenly she groaned in dissatisfaction.

Shirayuki had asked her to run an errand for her in a nearby supermarket to buy the ingredients for today's dinner. And Rukia really hated to go the supermarket because of everything she did, she would receive intense stares from the people around her and she could not bear it.

However, she complied with it since it was Shirayuki's order. It was not that she was scared of her, no! It was just that she was the one who kept her in shape and took a really good care of her since she was a kid. She only did this kind of thing only to return her gratitude.

Without wasting her time, she rushed to the supermarket and hoped that she would be quick to get out of there as fast as she could.

* * *

DING!

He came out his daze and was now well-aware of his surroundings. He stepped outside of the lift before the lift door closed behind him. He turned around a corner and rummaged through his briefcase.

He stopped for a while before continuing his way to his room, 106, while pulling out his room key. Before he could even enter the key to the doorknob, suddenly a shadow loomed from behind him and this did not go unnoticed by him as it reflected well through his door. Cold sweats started to form on his forehead and threatened to roll down the side of his face.

He gulped and slowly turned around him…and let out a relieved sigh. A nerve popped on his head. "Chad! You can scare me to death if you're going to do that again in the future! So next time, make sure to make a sound!" He massaged his chest, easing the thundering beating of his heart, while wiping off the sweat on his forehead.

"Sorry, Ichigo…" Chad said quietly yet still audible enough. There was a silence erupted between them and Ichigo could not take it anymore so he initiated an awkward conversation.

"S-so, what are you doing here, Chad? It's pretty rare for you to meet me up in person unless there's something important matter to discuss with me?" he asked the quiet man, hoping that with this, the awkward tension between them could be lessened.

"Ichigo…" he paused for a while, unsure of continuing the next sentence. Should he tell him about _it_? But, would he believe _it_ if he tell him about _it_? He braced himself for the next words. "Today, I met _her_…" he calmly spoke the words.

Before he could absorb everything, suddenly he was grabbed by the arms by Ichigo. He seemed pretty shocked and was it, hope in his eyes?

"Where?! Where did you fin-"

"Yasutora-sensei! Konbanwa! What are you-" suddenly he was cut by a sweet-made-up voice from behind Chad.

Ichigo's heart skipped a beat. He snapped his head towards the person behind Chad and Chad, as if he understood, stepped aside for both of them to face each other.

And the next thing he did not expect was the reaction he got from both of them.

* * *

Rukia sighed. Finally she was out of the supermarket and was now on her way home. She could not endure it under the intense stares of the people around the supermarket, so all she had to do was put some random ingredients in the basket, pulled out her money on the counter and rushed out of the place with the heavy plastic bags. It was still a mystery to her on how she could manage to run so easily with such heavy plastic bags on tow.

By now, she walked calmly down the streets and a certain park came in view. Out of reflex, she hid behind the wall while taking a peek around the park, afraid of bumping the same man yesterday. When the line was clear, she let out a relieved sigh and continued on her way home.

Her new home. An apartment. It was already two or three days since the day they moved in. It was such a nice and comfortable apartment with a balcony connected to the living room. And sometimes, she would enjoy the full-scenery of the town since Shirayuki and her lived in the sixth floor.

When she arrived at the said apartment, she dashed towards the empty lift and quickly pressed the number six. While waiting the lift to reach its destination, she recalled the nightmare she had last night. It was about her, wearing a black robe while holding a sword, pointing it to an ugly monster, before she was bitten on the neck.

She pulled out her right hand and kept clenching and unclenching it. She kept on doing that for about several seconds while her mind tried to interpret the meaning of the nightmare.

Suddenly a logical idea popped in her mind. "Ha! I know!" she began to feel proud of herself. "I knew it! It must be because of stress! Stress on solving mathematics problems!!! Yeah, that's right…I'm such a genius!"

DING!

She was jerked off by the sudden sound and stepped out of the lift quickly. Once the lift closed its door behind her, she could hear a distant loud voice around the corner, which was in the same way to her room. She could not help and decided to go up against the man, by giving him warning on how he could disturb everyone in this – she flipped open her phone – hour.

The moment she turned the corner, she saw the back of a familiar figure. She adjusted her voice into a sweet tone and she even wanted to know why he was there in the first place. Was he visiting a relative? Or a friend?

"Yasutora-sensei!" she bowed to him before straightened up. "Konbanwa! What are you-"

When Chad acknowledged her presence, he then stepped aside, allowing the man before him to show himself before her.

She gasped and let off her hold on the plastic bags. She could not believe this! How?

She shakily pointed her fingers to him and both of them even more surprised when they both said in unison.

"You!!!!"

It was as if they shared the same thoughts…for once…

The fate really had something for them, wasn't it?

* * *

**A/N: finally! This was the second draft because the first one I accidentally deleted it! That's why I am depressed right now. Because I had given my all to the first draft, and I can't–URGGGHH!!!! Stay tune! And moreover, my modem at home is not working right now, so I have to post this at school starting today onwards…*sigh* what an unfortunate incident… *shaking head***


	5. Shocking Truth

**So is this the fifth chapter? Hope you enjoy…**

**_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

Her eyebrow twitched while crossing her arms in front of her chest. She took a glance at the man before her, who was busy gulping down the dinner meal in front of him and oblivious of his surroundings. She glared daggers towards him and huffed, when the man finally realized her constant glare and playfully winked at her.

"GAH!" She suddenly stood and slammed her hands on the table. "I'm full already…" She stormed to her room and slammed the door behind her.

She hated this man. She really hated him. However, much to her dismay, her heart betrayed her, as it kept on pounding harder against her ribcage.

Though she did not know why but her heart always beat faster every time she looked at him…

She thought about this for a while, before walking slowly towards the window across the room, looking down at the busy road.

She sighed. How did all of this happen again in the first place?

*****SE*****

**Reversed back to the 'fated meeting'…**

"YOU!" Both of them said in unison.

Chad could only sweat-dropped. But deep down in his heart, he was quite amused with the opposite reactions they showed. Anger from Rukia, and happiness from Ichigo. However, when the tension between them became tenser, Chad then decided to do something.

He excused himself from both of them and walked away quickly. (A/N: Wow, Chad! That's very…nice… of you?)

However, they did not even realize the departure of the said man. They were too caught up with each other that they were pretty oblivious around them. The silence between them suddenly shattered with Rukia's sudden remark.

"What are you doing here, you pervert, old man?" She said it cynically, while crossing her arms before her chest.

"Huh? Nothing…wait, did you just call me a pervert? And most importantly, old man?" He could not believe his ears. As far as he knew, he was the youngest yet hottest man aside from Ishida and was ranked as the most wanted man in the hospital. And now, he was assumed as an old man by this midget herself.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. His migraine came back again from the last paperwork he had finished just now. He then observed her from top to bottom and realized that she was wearing his used-to-be high school uniform.

"You…" He started, catching her attention, before he continued, "What are you doing, wearing that school uniform again?"

Rukia gaped at him, her eyes flashed angrily. "Huh? What do you mean? Isn't it obvious? Girls my age should be in high school, of course!"

"No. I mean _you_…" He pressed the word 'you', however the girl before him was still blinking confusedly. He finally sighed. "Never mind…"

Rukia was about to ask him when suddenly the door next to Ichigo's creaked open and a familiar woman appeared behind the door, making both of them to snap their heads towards her.

"Rukia, what are you doing, standing there with those plastic bags on the floor? Come on, I need those ingredients…" She then averted her gaze towards Ichigo, finally aware of his presence. "Kurosaki-san, nice to meet you…" She bowed.

It was Shirayuki. No wonder she looked so familiar to him. _Too _familiar for him. However, it was then realization hit him hard, making him exchanged glances from Shirayuki to Rukia.

"Y-you guys, live here?!" He shakily voiced out. Rukia could only gape at both of them, not knowing what to say.

Shirayuki knew this man? That question kept on playing in her mind but she could not said it out loud as she was too dumbfounded and all of this was too fast for her.

*****SE*****

**Back at Ichigo's room…**

He could not contain his happiness and his smile kept on getting wider and wider each seconds. He was lying in his bed, while looking at the bright, clear moon on the sky. He was just…could not describe how happy he was at that time, because the girl he searched before was already by his side without him knowing it. And also because of that, he really, really grateful and satisfied with this.

However, his smile faltered when he remembered what Shirayuki had told him just now. Those words kept on replaying in his mind…

*****SE*****

**Flashback…**

"_GAH!" She suddenly stood and slammed her hands on the table. "I'm full already…" She stormed to her room and slammed the door behind her._

_He giggled at the sight and coughed when Shirayuki observed him. Shirayuki had invited him to have a dinner with them, since they had not met him for such a long time._

_Then there was a heavy and awkward silence between them, before it was broken by Shirayuki._

"_Um, Kurosaki-san…If you may, I have an important matter to discuss with you…" When she saw him nodded his head, she then continued, "Actually, I was assigned by Kuchiki Byakuya-sama to assist Rukia in this world…"_

_Ichigo's eyes bulged at the statement. "So, does that mean Rukia is not dead?" His heartbeat accelerated._

_Shirayuki waved her hands. "No, that's not what I mean. I mean, she's already dead, but this time it's different…" She hesitated before she continued, "Actually, she was reborn."_

_Now, there was a sign of realization crossed his face. All of it did make sense to him now. The memory of their first meeting in the park last time came back to him._

"_If that how it is, then all of her past life's memories gone?" When he saw her nodded her head, he covered his face, as a sense of guilt kicked in._

"_And as her zanpakutou, I did still remember all of those who are connected to her, including you, Kurosaki-san…" She said it softly, concerned with the man before her._

_Then an idea popped in her mind. "Another thing, I need your assistance in guarding Rukia from any danger, okay?" This caught his attention immediately and a sense of surprise washed over his body. "And you can use this chance to tighten your loose bond with her, Kurosaki-san." She encouraged him._

_Thanks to her encouragement, his spirit was burning now. Yes, he would use this chance to his advantage._

_To make her remembered him again…_

_To make her attached to him again…_

_And to make her fall in love with him, again…_

*****SE*****

**Back to Rukia's room…**

She again sighed before looking up at the clear moon above. She did not know why but every time she looked at it, it kind of telling her that she was missing something very important to her. Something very dear to her. A part of her life that should not be forgotten.

She kept on wondering about this and found no answer to this question. She kept on gazing at it before advancing towards her bed, and sat on the mattress. Suddenly her eyelids getting heavier and heavier and she tried to fight it off but to no avail and could only welcome the drowsiness.

*****SE*****

**Rukia's dream…**

She pointed her sword to him. "I'm not Shinigami. I'm Kuchiki Rukia…"

The man, his face being shadowed, grabbed her sword and replied, "I, *a piano string echoed*…" After those words, he thrust it through his chest, before there was a light, blinding the vision.

*****SE*****

She instantly woke up and panted. She wiped off the cold sweat forming on her forehead and felt her clothes wet. She then realized that she was still in her school uniform.

She glanced at the table clock. It was two in the morning. The same time as yesterday's. She sighed. When would this end?

She got out of her bed and walked towards her bathroom, to have a cold shower, hoping that she would get a very comfortable sleep later…

* * *

**A/N: *sigh* that's it. Sorry for the late update… because both my laptop and modem is completely malfunctioned!!! Ugh, I hate all of this!!! So, perhaps starting from today onwards, I'm going to update all my fics on Monday until further notice, TQ!!!**


	6. To where?

**This is the sixth chapter, hope you enjoy…btw, sorry for the late update b'coz we were having school holiday and around my home area, there is no wireless… so as for an apology, here you are!**

**_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

Today, her eyebrow twitched again while crossing her arms in front of her chest. She was in front of this man's door, waiting for him so that they could walk to school together. No. Scratch that. Him, walking her to school. Under Shirayuki's request.

She huffed for the umpteenth time and banging loudly on his door. Lucky for him, he opened the door immediately before the door could fly off its hang.

"Come on, old man! I'm already late for school!" She walked away from him, leaving him blinking there at his door. He glanced at his wristwatch and gasped. True to her words, it was already late. It was already seven-fifteen!

He dashed towards her, grabbed her hand and clenched it, pulling her to run as fast as him. Rukia, dumbfounded by this, could not think straight and run with him. Her heart beat faster and faster when he held her hand tightly and he even had a time to throw a grin towards her.

She could only sigh.

*****SE*****

**At the school gate…**

Both of them panted, out of breath. They exchanged looks and straightened up. Ichigo scratched his head awkwardly with Rukia kept on staring at him. Under her intense stare, Ichigo blushed a bit.

"Um, then, I'll be going off. Bye…" He smiled gently at her but wavered when she stuck her tongue at him.

"Bye bye!" She happily waved at him and ran off into the school building. He chuckled and shook his head, did not quite expect the reaction she had shown him just now.

She was still the same old Rukia in more ways…

*****SE*****

**At the Karakura General Hospital…**

Ichigo could not concentrate on his work as a certain someone kept on appearing in his mind. Thinking of her smile, her childish actions, and…BAM!

He got out of his daze when stacks of papers appeared on his desk before him. He blinked confusedly and growled when he saw Ishida behind the stacks of papers.

"You-"

"You should have finished your paperwork by now, Kurosaki. They will not wait for you, Kurosaki. And I did not hire you to daydream, KUROSAKI…" Ishida pushed up his glasses.

"Ishida! What the-You're the one who keep on giving me more and more paperwork! Why don't you just give those to Inoue?!" He said it out loud, catching the others' attention.

By this, Ishida blushed really hard and slammed his hands on Ichigo's desk. "Oi, quiet it down! She's really such a nice and sweet girl, and she deserved something better than a certain someone, who kept on slacking in doing their paperwork…"He recomposed his demeanor and again pushed up his glasses.

And they kept on bickering on such a trivial thing for several hours. Yep, that was how they communicate with each other each day. (A/N: shaking head)

*****SE*****

_She walked up behind him, who was surrounded by his friends. "Um, are you *a piano string echoed*?"_

_The man flinched before turned towards her. Again, she could not see his face as it was being shadowed. The man suddenly stood and backed away._

"_Do you know her, *a piano string echoed*?" His tall, dark friend asked him._

"_Oh, no. we just met today, right?" She said it in a high-pitched tone._

*****SE*****

She stood immediately, which caught everyone's attention in class. Even her teacher stopped writing on the chalkboard as he averted his attention on Rukia. Rukia bewildered for a moment, before smiling sheepishly.

"Um, sorry sensei…" Everyone were giggling and chuckling at her but she did not even care about it. She then was sent out of the classroom as a detention for not paying attention to today's lesson.

Lately she could not concentrate on her studies since she met the pervert, old man. Though she hated him, but she could not help but smile whenever his idiotic face came into mind. And also she could not control the faster beatings of her heart.

Was this…love?

No. She shook her head. It should not be. Because she disliked him. She hated him. But how about this feelings? Why did it kept on growing and growing whenever she remembered him? Why did these feelings so familiar?

*****SE*****

**Meanwhile…**

"That's what happened now… I can't even think straight, Ishida! With her being in this state, it's all because of me!!! I just can't let this happen anymore…I just have to do something. But I don't know what!" Ichigo covered his face with both of his hands, as he told Ishida everything that happened in his life recently.

Ishida sipped his tea, before putting it down on the tea table. Now he understood Ichigo's entire source problem. It was _her_. Kuchiki Rukia. The girl who used to be Ichigo's partner in hunting those hollows.

He thought for a while, before an idea popped in his genius mind. He chuckled evilly while pushing up his glasses, successfully catching Ichigo's attention.

"What?" Ichigo could feel chill ran down his spine when Ishida chuckled like that. It was as if he was planning something. Something for him.

"No, nothing. It's just that, I have an idea…" He hesitated first, before he continued, "I know how to cure your problem."

"What?! You do know?" Ichigo could not believe his ears and felt really grateful that he discussed his problem with the right person. "So, tell me, how?" He leaned closer and very hopeful.

"Then, you should transfer," he calmly said it out. Ichigo froze, registering everything in mind before he stood and gripped Ishida's collar.

"I dare you to say it again!" He gritted his teeth, and his eyes narrowed into slits.

"I haven't done talking yet, Kurosaki! Let me go!" Ichigo instantly let his hold off him and slumped down on the couch in Ishida's office while glaring daggers at him.

"Don't worry; it's not that I'll transfer you to somewhere far away. It's just nearby…" Ishida sat on his desk, taking out his cigarette and lit it.

He puffed out and continued, "We used to go there every day except for Saturdays and Sundays."

Ichigo's eyes bulged when the place he had been talking about came into his mind. "It can't be…"

"Yes, that's right. I see you're not an idiot like you used to be."

"Shut up…" Ichigo looked away, unable to meet Ishida's eyes.

Ishida was silent for a moment before teased him, "I see you already like that idea very much…"

"Shut up, Uryuu!"

"Hey, don't call me by my name as if we're close or something!" Now, Ishida was the one who was pissed off.

"Huh? Aren't we bestfriends?" again, Ichigo teased him and surrendered immediately when Ishida threatened him with his quincy bow.

* * *

**A/N: that's it… *sigh* and now I have to go to sleep…and tomorrow have to write my other fics…bye!!! And once again, sorry for the late updates!!!**


	7. I got you

**So is this the seventh chapter? Yep, that's right...hope you enjoy!!!!**

**_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

Today, Ichigo had to walk her to school again. However this time, their whole journey was engulfed completely in silence as Ichigo kept on grinning to himself. He was so excited and in complete bliss on what was going to happen later, pretty oblivious of the constant staring he received from the certain girl.

Rukia, who was beside him, staring dumbfounded at him, thinking that he was quite silent today and pretty...weird? She thought to herself on the possibilities of Ichigo's weird behavior. She kept on thinking and thinking and finally came to a conclusion.

"Are you having a weird morning sickness today?" The question seemed to make him out of his daze instantly and he turned towards her, and restrained himself from hugging her when she blinked cutely yet innocently at him.

He cleared his throat before answering her, concealing his already reddened cheeks. "Nothing...oh, so you really worried about me after all..." He smirked to her before he was being kicked in the shin.

"Idiot..." She crossed her arms before her chest. "It's just that your idiotic face scared the people around you." He looked around and true to her words; the group of the students snapped their heads to the opposite direction and scooted away from them as far as they could.

She then sent him a 'told-you-so' look and smirked at him, quite proud of it. "You're such a weird, perverted old man." Ichigo froze with those adjectives she mentioned and jerked his head towards her.

"You midget! You just added another adjective in my description just now!" When he got a smirk from her, he continued again, "You!" He stretched his arms to grab her but failed when she efficiently dodged the upcoming action and managed to get away as she ran towards the school building before sticking out her tongue to him.

"Catch me if you can! You weird, perverted old man!" She laughed when he gritted his teeth.

When Rukia was out of the sight, there was an evil smirk and he started to chuckle evilly. "Soon…" He turned away from the school while catching the students' attention and scared them away.

*****SE*****

**Homeroom class…**

The teacher, Karen Sasaki, was taking the students' attendances while chattering with the students, who sat in the front row. She was actually such a nice and sweet teacher but when it came to guys, she would talk about it open-mindedly; which made most of the girls students came up to her with their love problems, and flirting was one of her hobbies.

She suddenly remembered one thing that though it was not really that important but she needed to tell her students that thing. She cleared her throat and informed the students that there would be a new school doctor.

The classroom became quiet for a moment before most of the girls bombarded her with questions concerning the doctor. "U-um…yes, he was a young and handsome man actually…" She answered slowly and the girls were all squealing in delight.

She could see all the girls in the class were squealing except for one girl, who was sitting far back and situated beside the window, gazing far in distance out of the window. The girl seemed to be not interested to the commotion. She wondered what was on her mind…

*****SE*****

**Lunchtime…**

Rukia was currently on the rooftop, gazing down at the people, who were busy with their own matters. Some of the girls were having lunch everywhere around the school ground and her eyes stopped to a certain spot, which was under a certain cloudy tree. She felt so familiar with the tree…

*****SE*****

_She was sitting high up on the tree branch, with her mind going somewhere. She knew that someday they would send someone here, to bring her back. And now, she just did not know what to do with him._

_The one who took up all of her Shinigami powers._

"_Oh, she's here…Kuchiki-san!" She realized that someone was down there and looked down. The girl had slightly curly brown hair and unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt. "Come down and have a lunch with us!"_

*****SE*****

Rukia shook her head. And now she was remembering things. But one thing for sure, that spot was all too familiar to her. She kept on observing the spot and did not completely aware of the presence of a man behind her.

She leaned in closer to the gate, which enclosed around the rooftop so that no one would be able to accidentally slip and fall down from there. Suddenly an arm snaked around her waist and the other covered her mouth so that her scream would not catch those people's attentions.

Her eyes widened in surprise and flailed her arms around, to make him more difficult in handling her. And her heart beat even faster when the man leaned in closer to her ear and whispered in such a seductive way, "I got you now, Rukia…"

* * *

**A/N: Woah… Who's that guy?! Erm…I think you should be able to guess it already…hahaha…it's pretty obvious...=_=" But how? *pretending to think hard***


	8. Who?

**This is the eighth chapter…hope you enjoy!!!**

* * *

"I got you now, Rukia…" The man behind her whispered in her ears in such a seductive way, which made her heart beat faster and blushed furiously.

However, she regained her composure and out of reflex, she elbowed him in the stomach hard, making the man loosened his arms and freed her finally.

She turned around and gasped, when she realized the man, who was sprawled on the floor while clutching his stomach, was…

"The weird, perverted old man!" And this statement made a nerve popped on his head and he snapped at her.

"You, midget!" He rubbed his sore stomach and slowly straightened up, walking towards the shady spot beside the rooftop door.

Rukia, who stayed rooted at the place, slowly made her way to the man and finally realized that the man was wearing a white lab coat. And then, a question popped in her mind.

"So, what are you doing here, old man?" She took a seat across him, staring at him questionably.

He looked at her before stuffing his hand inside his coat and replied, "Nothing…" He pulled out two juice boxes and gave one at her. "Here."

Somehow Rukia felt the scene was familiar…

*****SE*****

"_I'm going to miss out on sleep again," He said it boringly, quite dissatisfied that he had to sacrifice his night._

_She glanced at him. "Don't complain."_

"_Yeah, okay…" He mumbled, while taking the juice box in her hand._

_She observed him, who was poking the straw through the aluminium on it and gave it to her. "Here you go."_

"_Thank you," she said quietly, before sucking it and closed her eyes, trying to enjoy the flavor of the drink._

*****SE*****

"This juice is good…" She looked at the juice box in her hand, while softening her eyes.

"Yeah…" He replied, glancing at her.

Somehow both of them had a nostalgic feeling inside their hearts… such a warmhearted feeling…

And there was silence between them until Rukia suddenly cleared her throat. "Um…I want to ask you something…" Ichigo turned his head towards her, who was now sitting beside him and looked at him with such fiery eyes.

"About what?" He smiled at her gently, which made her heart beat faster and she looked away from him, concealing the blush on her cheeks.

"N-Nothing…" She stammered. She smacked her head mentally several times for allowing herself to stammer and stutter in front of this man.

Again, the silence erupted between them until…

"So, who is she?" Ichigo snapped his head towards her again, and the girl was still looking away from him.

"Who are you talking about?"

"I mean, the girl you have been searching for…" She slowly turned her head and looked at him with her deep violet eyes.

"Oh, _her_…" He looked threw his gaze in front of him, gazing at a far away that surely not in this world.

She waited for him patiently for about five minutes, before she completely gave up and sighed. When she was about to stand up, suddenly the man grabbed her arm and pulled her to him, making her end up sitting on his lap.

She blushed furiously and was about to stand up again, assuming that all of this was just an accident, however Ichigo beat her to it as if he had already read her mind. He quickly wrapped his arms around her, stopping her action.

"O-oi-"

"She was the one who changed my world…" He whispered in her ears from behind, cutting her off. He could feel that the girl was shocked by her hitched breath.

She slowly turned her body 180 degrees to him, with her eyes wide-open. "W-was?" She did not know why but she just could not help the curiosity that boiled inside her.

He surprised with this and smiled warmly at her, "Yes, was…" He paused for a while, tightening his arms around her and leaned his head on her shoulder. "And it was my entire fault…"

She felt sorry for him and did not know how to comfort him. She wondered for a while and kept thinking harder. Suddenly an idea popped in her mind.

"Oi." When there was no answer from him, she breathed in before saying, "But you do love her, right?" Ichigo's head slowly rose up and nodded. "Then, she'll be really grateful that you still love her until now and then." She gave him a grin.

With those words, he felt a light weight off from his shoulder. He smiled at her warmheartedly which made her blushed. She looked down, unable to meet his eyes, afraid that he could find _something_ in her eyes.

Yeah. She started to feel _something_ for him and did not know what it was since she did not have much experience in this life. Suddenly her head was tilted up by his finger under her chin and she had to look at him in the eyes.

He did not know what he was doing but one thing for sure; he was enticed by her deep violet eyes and wanted nothing but those eyes to look at him only. He glanced at her red lips and the desire to touch those lips with his, boiled in rage inside him.

He caressed her face with such gentleness and slowly moved his face closer to hers. By now he could hear the pounding of his heart. Or was it hers? He did not really care about it that time since he was fully concentrated on her.

When he was about to close the distance between their lips, suddenly he came to consciousness because of the school bell, indicating that the lunch was over.

They finally realized their awkward position and he instantly loosened his embrace while Rukia stood and walked away from there. But she was stopped when Ichigo ran up to her and tapped her shoulder so casually, which resulted Rukia, being in a defense mode.

Both of them silent before Ichigo burst out laughing his head off. He did not know why but it was so funny to see Rukia so hyped up and smirked at her.

"Want to do it again?" This of course, earned him a kick in the shin by Rukia.

"Hmph, serves you right, you perverted old man!" She twisted the door knob and again being tapped on the shoulder, making a nerve popped on her head.

"WHAT?!" She snapped her head towards him, with an irritation clearly on her face.

He wanted to laugh again but suppressed it down, afraid of being kicked again. "N-nothing…I just want you to walk me to the infirmary since your classroom is around the corner…" He let out a childish grin and she huffed.

"Yeah, whatever…" she mumbled, quite annoyed with the man, who was so casually walked beside her as if he was her friend.

He was already considered to being as her friend, right? She shook her head. No! He was just using you as an advantage to his dirty mind…that was all! Yeah… she repeated those words inside her mind several times so that their relationship was clear enough as being nothing but strangers.

But, why did she let her guard down only with the man? She glanced at him, who was now scowling. Did she hope for something just now? She remembered their moments on the rooftop and blushed.

"Oi, we're already arrived." He nudged her, pulling her down to the earth. "So, hurry up and go to your classroom or else you'll get detention…" He smirked at her, and she looked away from him, before walking away from there.

"If you got detention of being standing outside the class, I'll help you by standing by your side, okay!" He shouted while laughing at her and this made her flinched and stuck her tongue out to him.

It was not like she would get detention anyway since the next class' teacher was too soft-hearted. She was about to turn the corner when suddenly she heard Ichigo's shriek. Out of reflex, she ran towards the infirmary and gaped at the front door, when she saw Ichigo, slumped on the floor with twitching eyes, and another person, who was standing before him, smiling at him…

And one thing she realized was that, with the person's presence, she could feel stabs of pain in her heart and her tears welled up her eyes, though she did not know why…

"Hello…I'm going to work here with you, Kurosaki…kun…"

* * *

**A/N: *sigh* sorry for the late update… perhaps next week, I'll be late again, because of the exams… so sorry in advance! =3**


	9. Introduction to the third party

**reA/N: sorry for the late update! And thanks for those who kept on reviewing and reading this story. It really encourages me to write… and I really do appreciate those comments!**

**Lastly, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

"Hello…I'm going to work here with you, Kurosaki…kun…"

Rukia gaped at the beautiful woman before her. Sure she was beautiful with the smooth flowing orange-brown hair with six-flowered hairpin and the warm yet sweet smile crossed her face. She was standing in front of the helpless orange-haired man, who was slumping on the floor with his eyes twitching and unbelievable look crossed his face.

The woman smiled happily and stretched out her hand to him, offering him a hand so that he could stand. However, Ichigo declined the offer gently and abruptly stood, brushing the dirt off from his white coat. Unknown to him, there was a slight hurt expression on the woman's facial as she slowly retracted her hand and as if she finally aware of the other presence, she turned to Rukia and smiled.

However, instead of feeling warm, she felt a cold shiver ran down her spine when the woman threw a smile to her. And the hurt expression crossed the woman's face just now did not go unnoticed by Rukia.

She did not know why but her heart beat faster and became restless with this woman's sudden appearance. She did not know why but she had this bad feeling but she just shrugged it off, as it did not matter to her since she did not know this woman…yet.

Then a sudden realization hit her back. The woman just now said that she was going to work there, right? But what she did not understand was that she was going to work there with this old man. Was the old man supposed to be working at the Karakura General Hospital? And he was here to visit a friend?

She decided to ask both of them and faked a cough so as to acknowledge the old man that she was still there.

Ichigo came out of his reverie when he heard the other person's cough and immediately turned to her, while scratching his head. "Um, as you can see, she's one of my colleagues, Inoue. Inoue, she is Rukia. Kuchiki Rukia."

When he received a nod from Inoue, he mentally let out a deep sigh. He was relieved that she understood the current situation and thanked her deep inside his heart that he did not expect that she really played along with it.

Rukia just nodded her head. Inoue? Though the name sounded weird, but she was so sure that she had heard this name before. But the problem was, where and when? Her violet orbs stopped at Inoue and stared at her intensely.

Inoue blushed under her intense stare. "U-um…Kuchiki-san? Is there something wrong?" Rukia immediately snapped out of her gaze, and shook her head furiously. She then turned to Ichigo and glared at him.

Ichigo could not help but gulped nervously. Did he do something wrong to her? He looked away from her, trying to conceal the slightly blush on his cheeks.

"Oi, old man. Aren't you supposed to be going to your work?" Rukia crossed her arms in front of her chest while staring at him, demanding an answer that could satisfy her. When Ichigo kept blinking in pure confusion, a nerve popped on her head.

Aren't you supposed to be going to the Karakura General Hospital by now?" His idiotic face made her irritated and annoyed to no end.

And Ichigo just smirked at her. "Of course, there's no need for me to go there anymore…" Rukia was surprised by his carefree attitude.

An idea popped in her mind. "Ha! You're being fired, right?" she muttered this out loud, resulting him in his eyes bulging.

"No, that's not it!" He scratched his head and went to the stool across the door. "Moreover, since there's an urgent need in doctor and nurse in this school, the president half-heartedly assigned me to this job."

*****SE*****

**Meanwhile…**

"Achoo!" Ishida sneezed out of a sudden. He was currently signing documents while drinking a coffee. He sighed. "I bet that there's someone who speaks ill of me. I wonder who that person is…"

*****SE*****

Rukia just nodded her head slowly with her hand on her chin in a thoughtful pose. "Oh, so that's it? I think your president is feeling much more relaxed when you're not in sight, right?"

"Hey, is that an insult?" Ichigo snapped suddenly. Rukia was surprised with his sudden outburst and there was a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"No. how could you take it as an insult, _Kurosaki-sensei_?" This time, she used that sickening sweet tone of hers, just to annoy Ichigo more. She could not help but made fun of him.

Though it was harsh, but she could feel a nostalgic feeling came out from this bickering. It was as if they had done this before. Always bickering with each other. And somehow, it made them close to each other. And they could understand each other best this way.

They started to call out names and too engrossed with each other that they started to forget the other woman's presence there. It was as if she did not even existed there in the first place. It was as if the world was theirs that they could care less of their surroundings.

Inoue could not help but watched them at the side lines with a smile plastered on her face. Though she was smiling, however in her heart, she did not deny that there was a sudden tinge of pain at the sight of them, bickering with each other.

It was as if the things about Rukia, never happened. It was as if they were back to their normal life, being school life teenagers. It sure did bring out memories.

But one thing for sure, she did not like this quite a bit. She glanced at the orange-haired man, who was by now quite irritated with the girl in front of him. However, not everything appeared on the surface really true. Because she could see his eyes softened at the sight of her, him being gentle around her, him being relaxed around her and now, a genuine smile crossed his facial expression.

So she decided to stop this meaningless fight between them by interrupting them. "U-um, Kuchiki-san. Shouldn't you be in your class right now? I think your teacher might be looking for you…" When she earned a nod from Rukia, she mentally let out a sigh of relief.

Rukia then walked out of the place before bowing to Inoue. "Okay, well then…excuse me, um…Inoue-san." She threw an innocent smile at her and a glare towards Ichigo. "And you too, old man!" She stuck out her tongue, making several nerves twitched on his orange head, and she quickly dashed towards her respective classroom.

Without the presence of Rukia, the awkward tension between him and Inoue began to peak. He let out a deep sigh and scratched his head. "I'm going somewhere for a while."

Inoue could only nod her head though she knew that he could not see her doing so. She threw a gaze outside the window. She tried to calm the tinge of jealousy in her heart. What did she have to do in order to win back Ichigo's heart?

Yes, she still loved him and she could not let him go. She was still not over him. It was too difficult for her to bury these feelings of hers since he was her first love. And that was the reason why she applied as the nurse in this school, in order to be closer to him.

Suddenly, there was a bright idea in her mind. She would not let him go. Not yet. She had to fight until the end. And she clenched her fists with determination of winning him back.

*****SE*****

Ishida was calmly taking a sip from his coffee when there was a sudden ringing of his cell phone. He put down the cup carefully on his desk before flipping open his phone, to find Ichigo's name appeared on the screen.

He sighed before pressing the button. "Hel-"

"Ishida! What the heck are you planning? Didn't you say that I was the only one applied as the doctor in here?" Ishida had to bring the phone away from his ear so that his eardrum would not get burst with the loud voice of Ichigo.

When there was silence at the other line, Ishida took the chance to talk. "Kurosaki. It's best for you have at least a capable nurse by your side as to make your job easier, don't you think so?" He calmly spoke, as if nothing happened.

"I-I guess…you're right. But, why _her_?" Ichigo's tone wavered.

Ishida sighed for the umpteenth time. "You sure are a difficult man, Kurosaki. Isn't she one of your _nakama_?"

At the mention of '_nakama_', Ichigo became silent. Yeah. She was one of them. But that did not apply in his life. He only considered her to be one of the people who he had to protect.

"Okay, okay. I got it. Sorry for bothering you." Immediately the other line hung up. Ishida blinked at the sudden hang and flipped closed his phone. He put it on his desk and pinched the bridge of his nose.

He still felt rather offended when Inoue begged him to transfer her at the same place as Ichigo's since she overheard the conversation between him and Ichigo that day. He could not help but to agree with her when she asked him with teary eyes.

Yes. He was so weak when it came to Inoue. He only hoped that Ichigo would be able to recover Rukia's memories despite of the sudden appearance of Inoue.

**A/N: *sigh* yea! I'll keep on updating this story, so stay tune!**


	10. Oresama is here!

**A/N: Here's the next chapter…hope you enjoy…**

Ichigo's eyebrows twitched several times. He gulped nervously as he eyed the food in front of him and he glanced at the others at the round table.

Starting from his left; the black-jet-haired midget, who was crossing her arms in front of her chest, while observing carefully the served food. A sweat rolled down the side of her face before throwing a glance at him, with a what-was-this look.

He only shrugged and looked at the tall and tanned-skin man beside her. Chad coolly sipped down the juice Inoue made, without even flinching of the taste. Ichigo looked at him in disbelief and there was a train of 'how come he…' in his mind as observed any possible reaction of the man.

When he got nothing from him, he could only sigh. He was sure that perhaps Chad was immune to it already.

His eyes then stopped to another man beside Chad, who kept on pushing his glasses nervously. Ichigo could not see Ishida's eyes as his glasses was reflected by the light, making it difficult to read him. The man slowly grabbed the spoonful of the food and quickly put it in his mouth.

This action of course earned him everyone's attention as they waited nervously of his reaction next. After several minutes passed, the glasses man slowly pulled out the spoon and silent, making all of them gulped and eyed nervously at the food before them, which was soon their turn to eat them.

"It's delicious!" All of them surprised when the silent glasses man said it out loud, making them eyed him suspiciously. When there was nothing of him being lying, they slowly took a spoonful of their food and ate them.

It shocked them that the food that might looked as if inedible, was after all could be eaten. They let out a sigh of relief at the same time and thanked Inoue for making them food.

Inoue was surprised at their action and smiled at them warmly, though in her heart, she was terribly disappointed at all of this. That day's event was not what she had planned before.

*****SE*****

_Flashback;_

"_Na, Kurosaki-kun!" She stood beside the orange-haired man, who was busy checking up the documents left by the last doctor assigned to this school. The man looked up at her and gave her a smile._

"_What is it,Inoue?" He looked back at those documents in front of him, wanted to distract himself from the woman._

"_Um…I want to invite you to have a dinner at my house..." She looked down at her feet while blushing hard._

_Ichigo was surprised at her boldness and scratched his head awkwardly. His heart increased in speed at the sudden memory of the weird food she prepared the last time they had dinner in her house. It was all because she left him no choice but to go._

_He shuddered at the memory of him, eating one of those foods and had to restrain himself from throwing up. And the next day, he had to take two days off, for having a stomachache._

"_O-okay…I'll try…" He gave her a wavered smile and excused himself from the place. When he was out of the range, he let out a desperate sigh._

_How was he going to do? He had dug his own grave by promising her. He tried to think of a possible way to run away from this and suddenly a brilliant idea came into his mind._

_Why not just…_

**End of flashback…**

*****SE***  
**

And here they were. All of them. Including Rukia. He chuckled evilly in his mind as he received a glare from Ishida, a silence from Chad and a mumble of 'the creepy smiling nurse' from Rukia. In return, he flashed a smug grin towards them, except for Chad, of course.

If he was to bear the pain alone, then he would drag them down too… yeah, he knew that it was unlike him to think like this, but it was just for fun. It would be exciting to observe everyone's reaction at the taste of the hell's cooking.

Moreover, he had to drag Rukia here so that it would be easier for him to protect her from any possible danger. Though he did not want to admit it, he wanted her to be by his side so that he could ensure her safety.

However, things did not go as planned when Inoue sat at his right side and offered him almost everything and placed them on his plate. He reluctantly put them in his mouth and gulped down most of them, making him choked.

Rukia could only sigh and shook her head. She also muttered 'idiot' under her breath, knowing that the man beside her could hear it.

However it went unnoticed by Ichigo as he was too busy with gulping a glass of water, as to soothe the pain of his throat, for overbearing the load of food down to his stomach. He then let out a relief sigh and wiped the sweat appeared on his forehead.

And now he did not want Rukia to misunderstand the whole thing because of Inoue, being focused more on his welfare that the others. Because he wanted to start all over with Rukia and he did not want any of this happened again so he tried to explain but to no avail as she kept ignoring the whole situation in front of her.

He was quite hurt with her reaction of being an ignorant. Was there not even the slightest feeling for him in her heart at all?

Rukia tried to ignore the lovey-dovey couple beside her by engrossing herself in eating the meal in front of him. Though she was successful in maintaining her façade really well, but deep down in her heart, she could not help but to feel the stabs of pain. She did not know why she kept feeling this whenever she was with him.

She glanced at him and a nerve popped on her head. She tried to control herself from punching him in the stomach and across his face to a point where he would unconscious for several days. She chuckled evilly to herself at the thought.

Chad and Ishida, who had been the spectator of the event revealed in front of them, was silent and had their minds wandering off.

The dark-blue haired man was slightly hurt with Inoue, who was attending to all Ichigo's wants and needs as if it was her first priority.

Didn't Ichigo already have Rukia by his side, who he loved very dearly?

So that was why he did not want Inoue to keep on chasing Ichigo since it would only make her more suffer in the end. However what didn't cross his mind was that Inoue's effort in having Ichigo's attention towards her, by learning to cook the stuff in front of him. He did not even expect that Inoue would go this far just for him. And it did hurt him since she did not do this for him and him only.

He covered his face in distress. The situation was just too much for him to bear, so he stood up and flinched, when he sensed a familiar reiatsu. He threw a glance towards them and they nodded, understood that Ichigo had to go to settle it while they had to cover up his absence by distracting Rukia, since she still did not know anything about Shinigami.

Ichigo froze when there was a loud beep coming from his soul pager in his pants' pocket. He was deep in thought, thinking for a possible reason he should tell Rukia about this.

"Oi, old man. It was so noisy with the constant beeping from your pager!" The girl poked him in the shoulder, making him came out of his reverie.

A sweat came rolling down the side of his face as he tried to think a better excuse to answer her. However, another thing slipped out of his mouth. "I need to use the toilet!"

Everyone looked at him with wide eyes at his sudden yet unexpected excuse, before bursting into laughter. Ichigo looked away, quite embarrassed with his lame excuse. Inoue sweetly smiled at him and led him the direction of the toilet.

*****SE*****

**In the toilet…**

He took out the gikongan pill, which he tucked neatly inside his orange handkerchief. He then without wasting any more time swallowed the pill and he separated from his body immediately in the soul form. His lifeless body was later in control by…

"Kon!" He grabbed his shoulder, which was Kon. "Hey, I need you to act out there as if nothing happen, okay? And don't do anything reckless in front of _her_! Do you hear me?" when he received a nod from Kon, he then fled outside via the toilet's window.

Though he entrusted his body to Kon, he still worried of the possibility of him meeting Rukia. He gritted his teeth. He still did not trust him. He better finished this off and returned faster afraid of the worst possibility, since it was Kon.

*****SE*****

**Meanwhile…**

Kon grinned while waving Ichigo, who was completely out of the sight. He stretched out and realized that there was a mirror in front of him as he walked towards it. He flashed a sexy grin, showing his white teeth.

"Aww…man. How many weeks have I not come forth? And now finally Kon-sama appeared!" He laughed out loud, his voice echoed through the toilet.

When there was nothing replied at him, he slumped down on the toilet bowl before he stood suddenly with a hopeful look plastered on his façade.

"Wait. Did he just say _her_?" He looked around the toilet and sure that it was a woman's. He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Heh. That kid is finally moving on, I guess…" He felt something burning in his heart. "Ichigo, you jerk. Have you already forgotten nee-san? How dare you!"

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. A bright idea popped in his mind. He grinned evilly at the thought. He should teach that kid a lesson for forgetting his nee-san.

He slowly unlocked the door and twisted the knob. His eyes widened at the sight in front of him, which struck him, making him speechless…

**A/N: *bored and doing the 'bo peep' dance* ^_^-**


	11. All of Us'

**A/N: another chapter, yeah! Hope you enjoy! *bowing*

* * *

**

Rukia got bored. Her question was left unanswered when she asked them about why Ichigo seemed to be flustered while excusing himself to the toilet. It was such a weird sight for a man to be like that. To her, it was not a gentlemanly way.

She decided to check on Ichigo in the toilet since they lived next to each other. So she sneaked out carefully and swiftly that none of the group even had the idea that she was not there with them as they were too engrossed talking and reminiscing their memories back in high school.

She tip-toed in the hallway and kept looking back, afraid that someone might caught her on the spot. When she was sure that it was the toilet in front of her, she softly knocked on the door. She waited for a while but only met with silence at the other side. A vein snapped on her head as she knocked the door several times.

And slowly the door creaked open to reveal…

* * *

The girl before him only huffed in anger and crossed her arms over her chest while glaring at him. "What makes you take so long in there?" The jet-black-haired midget kept on rambling and rambling without even looking at him.

A pool of tears welled up his eyes and they flowed like a river down his cheeks. The girl in front of him glanced at him and froze when she saw those tears. She looked panic and even more dumbfounded when he suddenly rushed at her and hugged her tightly with his head sunk in her chest.

"Nee-san!" He kept on crying. "I missed you a lot for years!" He said it out loud while rubbing his cheeks against her.

There was only silence between them before he was kicked in between his legs, which resulted him in crouching over in front of her. "As expected from Nee-san. You still have that kicking attitude of yours. It's no mistake; you're the real nee-san."

It happened so fast for Rukia. The only thing she knew was that the man already in front of her, crouching over before her. It was a just a reflex, right? But why was it so familiar to her? The familiar sensation settled inside of her, which brought only more confusion to her.

Suddenly there were sounds of footsteps running towards them and there they were. Ishida and Chad could only sweatdropped at the sight while Inoue rushed towards Ichigo, who was resided by Kon, and gave him a hand to stand up.

However, the instant he stood, he abruptly went to Rukia. When he was about to touch her, he was pulled back by the collar by none other than Ishida, who was glaring daggers at him. "Let's have a talk now, Kurosaki-san…" He pronounced his name rather slowly with a hidden intention.

Kon gulped and shuddered as the cold chill ran down the spine at the sight of the blue-black-haired man. He even more surprised when suddenly a tall figured loomed over him from his back and was thrown over his shoulder while walking calmly towards the living room.

He looked down at Rukia with his puppy-dog eyes, hoping for her to save him that instant. However it did not go as planned as the said girl just looked away from him and was dragged to the kitchen by Inoue. By now his tears flowed down his cheeks like a waterfall as he stretched out his hand in order to grab Rukia.

"No! Nee-san! Nee-san!" His voice immediately died after the door to the living room closed behind the three men.

* * *

**After a while…**

Rukia decided to go back home since it was already late. When she was about to step out of the house, she was stopped by a mere pat on her shoulder. She side-glanced at the culprit and not at least at shocked when it was turned out to be Ishida.

The man pushed up his glasses. "You should wait for Kurosaki for a while. I think he will be back to normal soon." He gave her a reassuring smile and nodded at Chad, who was behind him, signaling him that they should go back to their respective homes.

Chad, as usual, just nodded and after that silent. She wondered how they were able to get along since the tall man was after all such a quiet person. She shook the thoughts off her mind. Well, it might be a miracle, right?

She realized that both men stared at her, waiting for her answer. She let out a deep sigh and nodded reluctantly. "Okay. I'll be waiting for one more minute."

She just looked at them until they were out of their sights. She crossed her arms over her chest and stomped her feet impatiently. "Yeah one minute my ass!" She huffed angrily as she kept glaring around her, though there was no one in this late night.

Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind and a weight settled on her right shoulder. She could feel a warm breath whispered against her ear. "Nee-san, didn't you remember me? Or any of us?" She side-glanced and glared at him.

"Sorry to disappoint you but I don't recall of having met you before." She tried to shove him away and loose his arms around her but to no avail. She flinched when he whispered in her ear again.

"All of us missed you a lot, nee-san…" By now, his bangs hid his eyes. "Yuzu and Karin have always missed you at home…"

She looked up at him in confusion. "Yuzu? Karin? All of us?" who was Yuzu? Karin? And what did he mean by 'all of us'?

She shivered at the thought. As far as she recalled, she had never meet them though it did sound so familiar. Why was this familiar sensation ran through her? It was as if it wanted her to realize something that was precious to her, but the problem was, she did not even know what it was.

* * *

**A/N: *sigh* sorry have to stop there, to be continued on the next chapter…Just wanna sweep wight now…**


	12. Why is it him?

**Yo! Sorry for the late update! So sorry! Because I've to plan carefully for my future! And it's really a pain in the ass to choose which university to enroll… *sigh* well, back to the story, hope you enjoy!**

**

* * *

**

"All of us?"

Kon turned her around and gripped her shoulders tightly, while nodding his head furiously. "Yeah, that's right! Yuzu, Karin, Ichigo's old man and Ichigo himself!" His eyes were gleaming in hope. He hoped that she would remember any of them if he was to call out their names.

However, he only received an unexpected reaction from her. She became silent all of a sudden, her eyebrow rose and she looked at him questionably.

Kon's heart broke at the sight of her, did not have any memories of them. No sign at all. He let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through his hair. He was so disappointed and hurt that he let go of her shoulders slowly. He turned away from her and climbed down the stairs with his head hung low and his shoulders slumped in defeat, leaving her blinking at his back with his words ran through her mind several times.

"Yuzu… Karin…Ichigo…" She tried to call out their names. What she did not expect was that it did sound so familiar because of the way her tongue rolled, called out their names.

* * *

"_Onee-chan…" a girl smiled at her gently with her dark-brown eyes. She had a short, light-brown-haired girl with short bangs hanging over the right side of her forehead._ _There was a red hairclip on the left side of her her figure faded not long after that and was replaced by another girl._

_This time, it was a tomboyish dark-haired girl with her straight hair cropped to hang around her face, just above her shoulders. She looked at her with her sad, dark orbs while calling her 'Rukia-nee...'_

"_Rukia-chan..." There was another figure beside the black-haired girl. He had spiky black hair and brown eyes. He has thin facial hair around his mouth and on his cheeks which made him looked much older and mature._

_And lastly the both of the figures faded away, leaving nothing but darkness. However not long after that she heard a distant soft voice, which sounded too familiar in her ears, pushing her mind to recall the voice in question._

"_Rukia…"Again, the voice called out her name. It sounded as if it was painful and sad that made her heart swelled in agony. But the only thing she knew was that it was a male's._

_She tried to remember him. And suddenly a certain orange-haired man flashed in her mind, his eyes softened at the sight of her and kept on calling out her name._

"_Rukia…"_

_

* * *

_

"Ichi…go…" The name unconsciously slipped from her lips as her mind kept on wandering. Suddenly she moaned in pain as she felt a sudden pain in her head. It was ringing inside it. She clutched her head and breathed in and out vigorously so as to let the pain went away.

She leant on the wall beside the door and slowly breathed in. After a while, when she was so sure that the pain subsided, she exhaled slowly and let her gaze wandered off to the bright white moon high above the sky.

"Why am I thinking of him?" Not only that, she called out his name, feeling as if it had been slipped from her lips several times before since she could feel the familiarity in her guts.

And then she recalled of the three figures she remembered in her mind just now. Who were they actually? Were they connected to her? Those questions kept on running in her mind which made her having a headache.

She shrugged it off and walked down the stairs. Thinking more of it, she became more uncertain of herself. And what happened exactly the moment before she lost all of her memories? She tried to find a clue concerning her forgotten memory but to no avail.

Suddenly an idea popped in her mind. Why didn't she ask Shirayuki about it? Wasn't she the one who brought her up until now? She was sure that Shirayuki would know something about this. So she dashed back home, in hope that she could get an answer from Shirayuki and would not be left in the dark.

* * *

**At that time…**

He scratched his head as he walked back home finally after defeating that troublesome hollow. This hollow was different from any hollows that he had defeated before. Before, he could easily finish them off with only one blow because of their stupidity. However, this one was sure very clever.

It was as if they were playing hide-and-seek and yeah, as you could see, it did sound ridiculous. He let out a sigh, did not want to recall of the said hollow since he already defeated it, period.

One thing that ran in his mind right now was Kon. Just then, he stopped by at Inoue's and was told that Kon already went back home. _Alone._ It was not like he was worried about him. Not at all.

The only thing he was worried about was his body. The body Kon used right now. If anything happened to his body, he would sent Kon back to Yuzu, which feared him the most as he was forced to wear those fancy dresses Yuzu always made him wear when she was free.

Suddenly he halted in his tracks when he accidentally saw a familiar figure, sitting on a bench in the park not far from his apartment. He narrowed his eyes and a nerve popped on his head at the sight of the figure as he stomped in anger towards the figure.

However what he did not expect was that the other party seemed to be sad that he still did not acknowledge his presence.

"Oi, Kon..." The said man looked up at him and immediately river of tears started to flow down his cheeks.

"Ichigo! Nee-san is...! Nee-san is-"

"Yeah, I know…" He looked away from him. Yeah, he knew what he was about to say. That Rukia forgot everything about them…forgot everything about _him_.

"How are we supposed to do?" Again, Kon lowered his head and sniffled loudly. He then gasped, attracting attention from Ichigo immediately. "Why don't we tell her about us? Why don't we initiate a move by being closer to her?" His eyes were glistening in hope.

"Hn, I guess so…"He still looked away from the man and unknown to him, a smile crept its way upon his facial expression.

* * *

However later that night, what he did not expect was that Shirayuki came, knocking at the front of his door, looking all troubled.

And what he did not expect was that Shirayuki's sayings that Rukia would be staying with him for several days because she was called to Soul Society, period.

And he never knew that at that moment, his relationship with Kuchiki Rukia would take a starting point from there onwards…

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry for the late update! Because this month I'm having my exams and for the upcoming months onwards…so sorry for the delay! *bowing***


	13. Living together

**Sorry for the late update…here's the chapter you've been waiting for…? Hope you enjoy!

* * *

**

It was such a bright and refreshing morning for Sunday. Blue sky decorated with white and fluffy clouds. Birds were chirping, forming a sweet melody. From a distance, there was laughter of kids around the area. And it was not unusual for a certain orange head.

However, what was unusual was that him, eating breakfast, with the raven-haired girl who constantly haunting his night musings, in silence and completely awkward.

It was not like they were strangers. _Not really_, he thought. It was just that…they were kind of…had nothing to say with each other.

Though, that was partly true by the way. Because whenever their eyes met, as if by reflex, their eyes would avert to everywhere but them.

He did not want this kind of thing to prolong for days or even worst, years. So he mustered up his courage to initiate a conversation with her.

"Ru-"

"Oi-"

That was unexpected. They gazed at each other before breaking into laughter and giggles. Ichigo gestured her as to allow her to be the first one to talk.

After her giggles subsided, she closed her eyes and cleared her throat for a second, before opening them back, her violet eyes shone in curiosity.

"Um…about your family…" she looked away from him for a while, uncertainty clearly shown on her face. However she did not see the change of expression on Ichigo's and he quickly wiped it off and replaced it with a smile.

"What is it…about my family?" His voice softened, when the small girl turned to him, seeing the fear, uncertainty and curious in her eyes.

"Do they-" She paused for a while before shaking her head, and continued, "Have I ever met your family before?"

There was only silence between them. Ichigo's eyes widened slightly. He never thought that she would be this straight-forward, asking him face-to-face about his family.

_Damn you, Rukia_, he mentally smacked her head, for being _too_ straight-forward. He had to think of something that would satisfy her curiosity, but _what_?

Rukia, not knowing the trouble he had in his head, kept on pressuring him by asking the surprising question that sent him off guard, "Or have we ever met before?"

His heart fell at the question. He was rather, clueless. Yes he knew the answer to that but! He did not know what would be her reaction or how he would explain it to her without her, calling him a freak or something of that sort.

"Y-you s-see…" he avoided any eye-contact with her and he mentally smacked himself for stammering, which added more suspicious towards the girl.

_DING DONG!_

At that time, he could not express something beyond bliss and thankful to whomever that was ringing his doorbell for saving him from Rukia's _dangerous_ questionnaire.

He quickly rose from his seat and less than a minute he was already at the door, his hand twisted the knob.

And now, he regretted and took back his words, when in front of him, was the last survivor of Quincy clan, which meant another trouble for him.

He let out a defeated sigh and gestured him to enter.

"What, Kurosaki? Are you expecting _someone_ instead of me?" There was a mischievous smirk on Ishida's face.

"Not really." Ichigo replied with a boring tone and scratched his orange head. "Well, what in the world are you doing here by the way, Ishida?" He went ahead of him towards the kitchen, with Ishida tailed him from behind after taking off his shoes.

"It looks like my presence is not wanted here, am I correct?" the blue-haired man loosened his tie and glanced at his friend, who was already disappeared around the corner of the hallway. "Tch." He did not like it one bit, when he was being ignored like this.

A nerve popped on his head as he stomped over to the kitchen and slammed opened the door. "Oi, Kurosaki! Did you he-"

His eyes were as big as sauce plate when they spotted a familiar tiny figure at one of the corner of the table.

"Ku…chiki…san?" he froze at the raven-haired girl, who was seemed to be surprise at his sudden appearance and instantly bowed at him.

He then averted his eyes towards a certain orange head, who was looking everywhere but him. _Oh, this is going to be interesting. Very much interesting!_ He thought to himself, his smirk widened. _So that is why he let out that deep sigh and make that disappointed face just now_.

"Well then, Kurosaki, Kuchiki-san. I think it is better for me to leave now since I don't have enough time…" he glanced at Ichigo and let out a triumph smirk, "…to disturb something I should not have."

Ichigo however did not like that smirk of his, so he stood up abruptly and sent a glare to him. "You and I, need to talk. Man-to-man talk." He left both of them, standing and blinking like idiots before it was shattered by Ishida, clearing his throat so as to attract Rukia's attention.

"Don't worry, it is not like what you think it is, Kuchiki-san." With that, he left the place, made his move towards the living room, which was adjacent to the kitchen.

* * *

**Several minutes later…**

The three of them were seated, with meals served in front of them. Ichigo and Rukia sat next to each other while Ishida sat opposite of Ichigo. With this seating arrangement, Ichigo was extremely excited that he got to sit next to her and…extremely annoyed when a certain blue-haired quincy often flashed him a smirk.

"Itadakimasu!" Rukia, ignoring the heated situation between the men, started to dig in, followed by Ishida.

"Kuchiki-san?" she looked up at Ishida, arching an eyebrow. "This…" he pointed at the _**kakuni**_ in front of him with his chopsticks. "…are you the one who make this stew?" when he received an innocent nod from the girl, he gaped in disbelief.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah…?"

"I can't believe it." He continued to dig in and filled his empty and growling stomach with the delicious stew.

"Hmph, believe it or not, it is up to you." Rukia was about to put a cubed meat when she felt someone beside her stared at her too. "What?" she was pretty annoyed; not only by this carrot-top but unbelievably by his friend too.

"Are you really the one who made this stuff?" when he received a glare from her, he shut his mouth quickly and let out a nervous laugh. "I thought, it is Shirayuki's, being frozen in the fridge or something."

"Hmph! Men!" She rolled her eyes and continued eating while ignoring the fuming from the man.

Ishida, who could only became the spectator of their argument, only shook his head and ignored them.

* * *

**Next day…**

_Mornin' Rukia. Sorry but I have to head to school before you. See you later!_

_-Ichigo._

Rukia scrunched the little note that was stuck on the fridge. _No wonder it was quiet_, she thought to herself while drying her hair up with her purple-printed Chappy towel.

That was right. Because every time she woke up, she would hear the sound of people chattering in the living room, not that she minded; after all it was all from television.

She rolled her eyes at the thought of this and started to prepare her lunchbox._ What is there that very important for him to go this early morning?_ She continued her rambling in her mind.

However she halted when she saw nothing on the dining table.

_Does that mean he-_

She let out a sigh. _He hasn't had his breakfast, right?_ She wore an apron that was hanging behind the kitchen door and fumbled in the cupboard over the sink, in search for the frying pan.

* * *

Ichigo let out a deep sigh and wished that that day would end faster because all he ever wanted was to rest and relax at home…with Rukia by his side.

He blushed slightly, shook the thought out of his head and started to concentrate on the duty in hand.

He was currently rearranging bottles of medicine on the cupboard beside the door and was about to put one when suddenly the door slid open, to reveal a familiar orange-head.

"Good morning, Kurosaki-kun!" She greeted him with her high-pitched tone and a smile was placed on her face.

"Ah, Inoue." Ichigo looked and flashed a smile to her, before looking away from her and fully concentrated on his duty.

Inoue shyly stood beside him and fidgeted. She opened her mouth but closed again as she became hesitated whether she should ask him or not.

"Um, Kurosaki-kun…" When she received the orange-haired man's attention, she immediately looked away from him.

The man arched an eyebrow at the fidgeting girl. _She seems to have something to talk to me, right? _ He thought to himself and set down the box of medicines in his hand.

"What is it, Inoue?"

"Um…" Unknown to the man, she had already prepared a lunchbox for him and she had an idea of eating together with him. "Can we-"

"Oi, Ichigo." Suddenly the door slid opened, to reveal the raven-haired midget, who seemed to be bored and did not even feel guilty as to whether she was interrupting something.

Ichigo suddenly became excited but he managed to calm himself down and did not want to show it so he had the deepest frown he ever had in his life.

Rukia realized the sudden change of expression on his facial. "What? Am I interrupting you guys?"

_No! Not at all! _He screamed only in his mind, but suddenly he got an idea and smirked at her. "You, being here, does that mean you miss me or something?" he teased.

However his smirk became a frown when he only got a constant stare from her. "Is she the reason why you came early?" and now, she was the one who teased him.

The question seemed to backfire at him. A nerve popped on his head. "I dare you to say tha-"

"Well, here." She gave him one of the nicely wrapped lunchbox in her hand. Before Ichigo could ask her about it, she beat him to it. "I knew you don't have a time to eat breakfast this morning, so I made this for you."

And before the man could open his mouth to thank her, she cut him off by mumbling that it was only because of gratitude that he had been taking care of her for those past few days.

Inoue, whose presence was as if a thin air around them, suddenly stepped up between them, which instantly caught the others' attention. "Um, Kuchiki-san. What do you mean by him, taking care of you?"

Rukia blinked innocently at her and arched an eyebrow. "Huh? Isn't it obvious?" She ignored Ichigo's protest remarks and continued. "I stay at him at the moment."

She saw the confusion painted on the woman's face and for a second she thought that she saw a flash of hurt in the woman's grey eyes. She became even more startled when the woman gave her a smile and turned towards Ichigo.

"So, you guys live together, right?" Ichigo became clueless. He just did not know what to do now. He sighed and picked the box of medicines beside him and went to his desk, without making eye-contact with her.

"Yeah…" He quietly answered.

The room fell into silent. The three of them just stayed in their position, not knowing what to talk about. However the silence was only last for several minutes when suddenly Inoue clasped her hands together, that it made a clap sound, as to attract their attentions towards her.

"Then, Kuchiki-san would be lonely, right? Not having someone to talk to, right?" She looked at Rukia with gleaming eyes, one could not refuse.

"Um, not really," Rukia breathed out and looked away from her, away from those gleaming-in-hope eyes.

"You don't have to be shy about it, Kuchiki-san…" She giggled and turned towards Ichigo, who was now seated at the stool beside his desk. "I've decided!"

"Huh?" Both Ichigo and Rukia said in unison.

"I will accompany Kuchiki-san by staying at Kurosaki-kun's!" She gave both of them the sweetest smile ever and went out of the infirmary with the excuse of having to use the restroom.

Ichigo's shoulder slumped down and he let out a defeated sigh. Rukia folded her arms in front of her chest and slightly confused with his unexpected reaction at Inoue's decision.

"Why are you sighing for? Isn't that good for you?"

"Wha-"

"You don't have to go early in the morning just to see her, right? With this arrangement, you can see her everywhere since she will be living with us starting today…"

Again, Ichigo let out a sigh for the umpteenth time. "That's not what I meant."

"Huh?"

He only saw confusion in the violet eyes of hers and scratched his head. "You will not understand even if I explain it to you…"

Those words seemed to strike her heart and she did not know why she was the one who felt hurt by his words. _Not understand, huh?_ She ignored the pain in her heart. "Whatever." She then stomped out of the infirmary and went to her class.

However unknown to her, this arrangement would simply reveal her true feelings for the strawberry head…

…or not.

* * *

**A/N: sorry for the late update. It's just that…erm…*sigh*…nothing. Never mind. I have given a thought about when should I update for the next chapters…hm…**

**I think, it would be better if I update at least, twice a month, perhaps? =_="**

**Oh, btw, at the moment I want to focus more on writing one-shots. But I just don't know which pairings I should use;**

**- Ichiruki?**

**- Naruhina?**

**- OzxAlice? (Pandora hearts)**

**- RenxKyoko? (Skip Beat)**

**- TsunaxHaru? (Katekyo)**

**- HayatexNagi? (Hayate no gotoku)  
**

**- Or any other animes?**

**I just don't know what to do…Arggghhh *pulling hairs***


	14. The fragments of feelings

**A/N: Here you go, and hope you enjoy!**

**

* * *

**

It had been a few days later that Inoue started living with both Rukia and Ichigo. The orange-brown hair woman slowly opened her eyes to reveal gray orbs, but instantly closed them as the harsh sunlight greeted her.

She sat up, rubbed her eyes so that they would become used to the bright surroundings of the room. After what it seemed to be seconds, she stretched her arms upwards then let them fall back to her sides. She then observed the room she currently resided in.

It was Ichigo's. The room where her most beloved man stayed. she glanced at the disarrayed bed, where she had slept just now. She ran her fingers on the soft textures of the blue mattress, grabbed a white-plain pillow and sunk her face in it. She smelt it deeply and laid her head on it for a while. _This pillow smells just like Kurosaki-kun._

However, her train of thoughts stopped right there when she suddenly heard the clang sound from the kitchen, which was situated at the opposite side of the bedroom. She immediately remembered that she was not alone at that time that she stood abruptly and went to the kitchen to find…

"Ah, Inoue-san." A certain jet-black-haired midget stood in front of the refrigerator, with a bottle of milk in her hand and seemed to be surprised to see her there.

"Kuchiki-san." Inoue sighed and flashed a smile at her. She kind of forgot that Rukia also lived with them. She shook her head in disapproval at her short-term memory.

She glanced at Rukia. The said girl as usual wore an apron with the school uniform under it, while her hair were tied in two low ponytails, which made her looked…_cute_. _No wonder Kurosaki-kun…_

Rukia stayed rooted at the ground, waited patiently whether the woman had anything to say at her or not. When she was so sure that there was nothing else, she turned away from the woman and grabbed a frying pan, which she got from the top cupboard, and started to prepare a breakfast.

"Um, Kuchiki-san?" Rukia paused from her task and turned her head to look at the woman. The woman seemed to be uncertain with the way she fidgeted and looked everywhere but her. "Do you know where Kurosaki-kun is?" she whispered quietly yet audible enough for Rukia to hear her.

Rukia shrugged, giving the sign that she did not know where the said orange-haired man. For a short moment, a silence erupted in the room, but was shattered when the black-haired girl turned around to face her with her arms folded in front of her chest. "Perhaps he is in the living room, I guess." She then continued with cooking the breakfast.

Inoue then glanced to her left, where the living room was and strode quietly at the area. However it was not long that she found Ichigo. The shinigami was sleeping on the couch, his face freed from any frown he always wore wherever he went. _He looks so serene_. Inoue giggled at the sight of him and gasped suddenly when she remembered the main reason why she up this morning. _Hm…this head of mine is always on Kurosaki-kun…_ she sighed mentally and dashed towards the kitchen, only to surprise Rukia again.

Though it did not like it, deep down in her heart, Rukia felt that it was irritating. The way the woman up early in the morning only to ask where the carrot-top idiot is, really was irritating…and annoying. But she did not dare to say it out loud; afraid that her words would probably hurt the woman.

"Ne, Kuchiki-san! Teach me how to cook!" Her gray orbs gleamed in determination; Rukia could see that. She wondered where the determination came from.

"Uh, okay then." Rukia sweat-dropped. But it did not hurt to teach the woman, right?

* * *

**Later…**

Ichigo gulped nervously at the sight of the _slightly _weird-looking meal in front of him. He then eyed Rukia, who was sitting opposite from him. Brown orbs met violet orbs.

_Is this her doings? _As if she could hear what he was thinking right now, Rukia replied in a quick nod.

_Don't worry. It's edible. I'm the one who assisted her, so rest assure._ Rukia let out a smirk which made a vein popped on his head.

He stole a glance at the woman next to him, who was looking at him expectantly. And Ichigo became nervous of the way her gray eyes gleamed in expectation. Or more accurately, _high_ expectation.

He sighed and took a bite of a sliced rolled omelet in hesitation. He hoped mentally that he would still alive after eating it.

Inoue blinked innocently and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Ichigo's sudden stiffness. And Rukia could only gulp nervously at the said man's unexpected reaction.

"It's delicious!" A voice boomed suddenly, surprising both Rukia and Inoue at the same time. Ichigo, without any hesitation anymore, quickly gulped down the meal in front of him and asked for seconds at Rukia. She just sighed and smirked at him, before rose from her seat and strode towards the rice cooker to fill Ichigo's empty bowl.

He felt very grateful that he was still alive and was unexpected that finally Inoue cooked something edible for the first time!

"Is that really true, Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue's gray eyes gleamed in happiness and bliss because Ichigo had praised her. They smiled at each other for a second before Ichigo looked away from her, taking his bowl from Rukia.

However, a certain midget only ate her breakfast with silence and ignored the commotion in front of her. Though she seemed to be calm but deep down in her heart, she felt something burning in her heart. She just did not know why she was feeling this every time she saw both Ichigo and Inoue exchanged smiles with each other.

In the end, she just brushed off the feeling, knowing that it was only because she felt loneliness in her heart. Lonely that Shirayuki was not there with her. God, she missed her so much…

* * *

However, no matter how much she did, she still could not get rid of the feeling in her heart. She glanced at both adults beside her.

Inoue was walking with Ichigo, side by side, while smiling and talking happily. She seemed to be in her own world whenever Ichigo was beside her.

Rukia tried to interrupt their conversation but failed in her attempt because she just did not get the idea of what they were talking about. It was something about Soul Society and something-something. Whatever it was, the only thing that clicked in her mind was the 'Soul Society' word. She did not know why but she knew that she had heard that word somewhere and that it was something familiar and got something to do with her. But _what was it?_

She stole a glance towards them again. She unconsciously began to contemplate that if the orange-brown-haired woman was not there, she would be the one who would always stood beside Ichigo, walking down the streets while laughing their heads off.

She suddenly stopped in her tracks with her eyes widened as realization hit her hard. _Did I just…_

"Oi, Rukia. Are you alright?" The man asked her suddenly, placing a hand on her shoulder with his brown eyes showing concern towards the petite girl.

He felt weird when the said girl suddenly fell into silence, because before this, she would be the one who would be noisier in the early morning that could grab unwanted attention from people around them, making him felt embarrassed that he had to yell at her for making such a stupid behavior in front of those people.

But when she suddenly silent just like the moment, he felt something missing…and wrong without her cheerful and chirpy tone though it irritated the hell out of him. But right now, it was not the point.

Suddenly his hand, that being placed on her shoulder, was pushed away harshly by none other than Rukia herself. Her violet eyes reflected shock at her sudden reaction and then they turned into glares.

"Don't ever touch me so casually, you carrot-top idiot!" She yelled at him however her eyes widened in disbelief at her loud voice.

Ichigo was taken aback at her aggressive reaction and narrowed his eyes. "Carrot-top?" he gritted his teeth with a nerve popped on his head. "MIDGET!"

"You!" The said midget growled at the forbidden word and dashed towards him.

It was too fast for his mind to register what had happened. The only thing that he knew was that there was a pain shot through his shin and that at the moment, he was kneeling down, stroking the pain out of his shin.

And at the mention of the midget, she quickly dashed towards the gate of Karakura High School that was not really far away from the place where Ichigo and Inoue were. Before she entered the gate, she managed to stick out her tongue at the kneeling man and shouted a 'Carrot-top idiot!' at him, while laughing her head off.

_Ugh, she is going to pay for this!_ Ichigo hissed mentally, making a mental note. He was too busy easing his pain that he totally forgot Inoue's presence behind him nor the disappointment shown on her expression after watching the everyday's interaction between her Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-san.

Inoue could only turn a blind eye at the sight but failed when she got to see another side of Ichigo at that time. His playful and childish side that he rarely showed to anyone but Rukia…

* * *

**A/N: that's it! The next chapter will be updated next week, if I'm not mistaken…Aye!**


End file.
